As the United States celebrated its 250th birthday this weekend, several thoughts and emotions ran through my mind. There is much to be proud of as a citizen of this country. We defeated a world power to gain our independence. The nation engaged in a Civil War to end slavery. And we joined with an alliance of nations to defeat fascism twice in the 20th Century. We have built first-class hospitals that have saved countless lives. Created schools that have spawned leaders in many fields of study.

And we have survived dust bowls, depressions, and outbreaks of infection and have come back resilient and strong. And though I love this country, I am not blind to the injustice, prejudice, and inequality that still exist after 250 years. It saddens me that, despite all of our accomplishments, so many are still left behind in education, health, housing, and economic prosperity. And the fact that so many are left behind due to their race, gender, sexual orientation, etc., brings me great sadness and causes me to ask why.

Our Leaders at 250: The Obamas

As I considered this dichotomy between the mind and the spirit, I wondered whether some wisdom could be gleaned from our nation’s leaders. What knowledge and wisdom have they gained in their study of our 250-year history, and how does it apply today? Also, I wanted to correlate the words of the day to the guidance this nation received at the time of the Declaration of Independence.

I thought a good place to start would be these inspirational words from former First Lady Michelle Obama, delivered at the Obama Presidential Library Opening Ceremony.

“But deep down in our hearts and souls, we all know right from wrong. We know selflessness from greed, righteousness from injustice. We understand that we all rise and fall together, that every last one of us is an invaluable contributor to the greatness of America. And I’m talking about the workers living paycheck to paycheck, hoping to give their kids a better future.

“The teachers using their own money to take their students on field trips. The business owners struggling to meet payroll but refusing to close their doors. All those folks sweating over stoves to provide meals for their communities. Folks shivering in the freezing cold to deliver our packages. Picking up trash to keep our parks clean. Volunteers dedicating their weekends to coaching T-ball, directing the church choir, or mentoring a child.

“That’s where the truth of this country lies. Not in grabbing as much as we can get for ourselves, or knocking folks down to prop ourselves up, but in the overwhelming goodness, the relentless striving, the quiet dignity that is inside all of us, our greatest hope is that this center can reflect back just a fraction of that light, that it can capture the beauty of who we all are, no matter what we look like or where we come from, or how much money we earn, or how we pray or vote or speak or love.”

As I read these words, they remind me of similar ones from a document 250 years ago that helped create a nation: the Declaration of Independence.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

“That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

Two very unifying statements 250 years apart.

The President’s View at 250

Contrast that with the words of President Trump, delivered Friday Night at Mount Rushmore, as part of the United States’ 250th Anniversary celebration.

“Our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values, and indoctrinate our children. Angry mobs are trying to tear down statues of our Founders, deface our most sacred memorials, and unleash a wave of violent crime in our cities.

” Many of these people have no idea why they are doing this, but some know exactly what they are doing. They think the American people are weak, soft, and submissive. But no, the American people are strong and proud, and they will not allow our country, and all of its values, history, and culture, to be taken from them.“

Far from unifying, these words are tragically divisive, and they seek to pit citizen against citizen. Not at all what our Forefathers had in mind 250 years ago.

The Rise of a New Leader

And from another perspective, these words from the Mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, at the 250th anniversary celebration in New York City.

“The truth, my friends, is that America is exceptional because here, nothing is fixed into place. The frontier may be closed, we may have walked on the moon, but the work of fulfilling the values first enshrined in the Declaration of Independence — that work endures, my friends, and it belongs to us all.

“It belongs too to our newest Americans, those standing here with me today, all of whom were recently naturalized. Nearly a decade ago, I too felt what you feel — the joy of no longer being just a New Yorker, but an American too. You each hold a special power. The power to determine what America means.  

“The powerful have always known their answer. America, in their view, is an arena of supremacy, where only a select few are allowed freedom, where not all are created equal. America, if you ask them, becomes less the more people it welcomes. America, they will tell you, belongs only to those with the right accent or the right shade of skin. The rest of us, they insist, should be grateful for merely being allowed to visit.  

“How small they are, how weak, how unoriginal. At every moment in our past, those who led through exclusion and isolation have tried to win power and enrich themselves by turning us against one another. Division is the oldest trick in politics, and the cheapest. But time and again — including 250 years ago — those forces of division have been vanquished by the forces of progress.”

250 Years of Unifying and Hopeful Resolve

The words of the Declaration of Independence, Ms. Obama, and Mayor Mamdani all have a unifying theme. That every day Americans, regardless of race, color, gender, religious beliefs, party affiliation, etc., are the true holders of power. Citizens banding together to defeat tyranny, hate, prejudice, and greed. For those who seek to destroy our democracy are driven by avarice and self-interest.

Time and again, for 250 years, the citizens of this country have risen up to defend the individual rights vested in all of us. So, whether it be a foreign government, slave owners of the 19th Century, robber barons at the turn of the 20th Century, or the MAGA elites of today, Americans will come together to restore peace, justice, freedom, and equality for all of us. The fight is not over, but the spirit lives on.